A Boulderer's Book List

I received my Climbing Magazine "Readers' Choice" Issue in the mail today.  And it's such a disappointment.  It surprised me that I could be so disappointed by it, because I've already lowered my expectations of Climbing magazine substantially.  But not a single thing in the entire issue passes as a real article.  Just page after page that look like what having A.D.D. must feel like.  Busy pages of lists, survey results, a few short columns, and a bunch of things taken straight from the internet.  If I want something from the internet, I'll just go get it from the internet!   Why would they ever think readers want to pay for a magazine to tell them what's already on Mountain Project, or repeat what people said on their blogs?  I realize that times are tough for the magazine business right now.  I'm not trying to kick Climbing magazine when it's already down.  But I would like to take it to the corner of the ring, slap it in the cover and tell it "You need to fight for your life or it's going to be over, and you're just not doing it right!  You can't out internet the internet!  It's time to calm down, just calm down, you have your own niche.  If you print some good full length articles in every issue, then everything will be okay. Just one knock out article is really all you need to stay in this game."

I'm absolutely sure that there are still things going on in the climbing world, and topics to be explored, that can keep readers' interest for more than a couple pages.  Rock and Ice still prints some really good full length articles, Alpinist is amazing (if you're into mountain climbing), and I enjoyed reading the most recent Climbing Zine from cover to cover.

But despite the previous rant, I'm just writing a list this week.  Like one of the lists you could find in Climbing Magazine.  What else can I do? The weather's been bad.  I don't have a story, or any new information, or truly original opinions to share this week.  But I have been reading a lot.  And it's fine for me to just write a list, because #1 that's the type of thing the internet is for, and #2 I'm not asking you to pay for it.

 So my true goal with this post is to help you spend some quality time away from the internet.  To read something meaningful, something someone spent quite a bit of time to produce, a work that's actually worth your precious time.  So here's a list of books that I'd recommend for anyone who's interested in bouldering.  Buy them, borrow them from a library, or add them to your Christmas list.  Then find a quiet spot, sit down with a warm drink during bad weather and enjoy one of them for a while.

For Bouldering History

John Gill Master of Rock by Pat Ament  -This book helped John Gill get this whole thing started.

Stone Crusade by John Sherman -An entertaining account of American bouldering history up until 1992.

For Bouldering Development

Rock 'n' Road by Tim Toula - Documenting over 2000 in North America, this atlas to climbing areas still beats the Internet when it comes to finding fresh boulders.  Buy some brushes, drive to any area in the guide, and see what you can find.

For Entertainment

Sherman Exposed by John Sherman - Still the funniest bouldering stories I've read.

Stone Play: The Art of Bouldering edited by J S Watson- Good photos, and even better articles.

A Night on the Ground A Day in the Open by Doug Robinson- Deeper articles that are still fun to read.

For Geology

Flakes, Jugs, & Splitters by Sarah Garlick- Learn how the boulders happened.  Appreciate the stone, the world, and time in a more complete, more accurate way.

For the Climbing Life

High Infatuation: A Climber's Guide to Love and Gravity by Steph Davis- It's all in there somewhere.

For Getting Even Deeper into the Topic

The Boulder: A Philosophy for Bouldering by Francis Sanzaro - Think about bouldering in whole new ways.

For your Coffee Table

Southern Nevada Bouldering by Tom Moulin - Almost too heavy and too nice to actually take out to the boulders with you, it's an amazing work!  If a guidebook can be art, this is the first that feels like a masterpiece.

I hope that you enjoy these books as much as I did.  Who would have thought that recent Climbing Magazines, and the proliferation of internet click bait, would give me a such a renewed appreciation for books?

It's time for Thanksgiving!

What a Way to Wrap Up the Season!

Winter is definitely here!  The snow outside squeaks underfoot, and the air makes my face hurt.  But before winter hit, so much was accomplished!  Jimmy Webb made a visit to Neverland.  Davin and Bryan gave him a tour of some of the hardest projects, and he sent two new V14s "The Multiverse" and "Komodo." One of them is now Wyoming's hardest boulder problem, and the other one is the second hardest.  Kasia Pietras made the first ascent of "Triple X" which was also a long standing Neverland project.
Then news came out that Jamie Emerson finished off the Mega Mega project at El Dakota.  He named it "The Hunter," rated it V12, and I recommend reading his well written account of it at B3bouldering.

Bryan, Davin, Mike, Brian and Jamie working at what was still the "Mega Mega Project" last July.

As the famous unfinished lines kept appearing on my Instagram feed with names and grades on an almost daily basis, for a moment it started to seem like all the hard projects in Wyoming were suddenly complete.   But with just a little thought, a bunch more came to mind.  And with so much good rock, I'm absolutely sure that new, never before seen, world class Wyoming lines will show up on Instagram by next year.  Even in my guidebook, there are still quite a few impressive undone projects listed in the V12-15 range.  And it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Rock Shop could have the most difficult problem in the state if a strong enough climber visits the area.  Hopefully a few of the projects in the Lander area will get attention, now that the quality of Wyoming bouldering is becoming more well known.

With my teaching and family schedule, I wasn't able to make it out to Neverland to see all the strong climbers who visited over the last couple weekends.  But that's alright.  I got to climb in empty beautiful places, in amazing weather.  Here are some photos of Sierra and Matt from a recent trip to Torrey Valley.

Sierra climbing The Good Earth East Face V2.

 Matt on the Mead boulder.

 The fine grain Torrey texture on "Gold's Gym."

 Davin showed me "Gold's Gym" on my first trip to Torrey Valley and called it V5.  Matt and I might have been starting somewhat lower than the original line, but it felt really hard to me.

Matt sent it.

 I didn't.  But now I know what to do, and I'm excited to get back to it!

It's been one of the most exciting couple weeks ever for Wyoming bouldering as a spectator sport.  But as a participant, my last two weekends were exactly the same as they've been for many years.  Just wonderful days in vast lonely spaces, playing at getting up rocks, trying as hard as I can, with family and friends.  The types of days that I've become very accustomed to, yet seem to appreciate even more as time goes by.   So it's wonderful that some of the world's strongest boulders are making visits and putting up amazing lines.  I'm excited that it's finally happening.  As a Wyoming bouldering developer it's good to get some validation and recognition that these areas we have really are as amazing as we think they are.

But it's also good to occasionally ask the question "Is any validation actually necessary?"  I've finally come to realize that it isn't.  When you've got boulders you're excited to climb, that's really all you need.


Who knows when temps will be warm again?  Not by this weekend.

Luckily, there will be a bouldering comp at Elemental on Saturday.